Orioles find a way to recoup value on recently DFA'd righty with late night trade

Late Sunday afternoon, as the Orioles were getting demolished by the Reds in what turned out to be one of the worst losses in franchise history, Mike Elias was on the phones busy trying to find a way to get something in return for righty Scott Blewett.

The 29 year old was designated for assignment over the weekend. He was out of minor league options and the O's needed a 26-man roster spot to make room for righty Brandon Young, who came up and made his major league debut on Saturday.

The Orioles had claimed Blewett off waivers just a week prior, and the righty had come in and thrown 4.1 scoreless innings across two outings. He looked sharp in his brief stint with Baltimore, and was coming off a group of strong outings with the Twins the year prior. He threw just 20.1 innings in Minnesota last year but posted a 1.77 ERA in the process. He's followed that up by allowing just 1 run in 9 innings pitched between the Twins and Orioles this year.

Despite that success, the Orioles ditched him anyway. Because he was a likely candidate to get claimed while passing through waivers, the Orioles were searching for a last minute trade where they could recoup some value, and Elias was able to find it. Sort of.

Orioles trade righty Scott Blewett to Atlanta for cash considerations

Blewett was dealt to Atlanta for the always intriguing cash considerations. Unfortunately, cash considerations can't pitch and therefore can't take Cionel Perez's roster spot. It's a small consolation for the O's, who certainly could use the help wherever they can get it right now.

The team is in a tough spot, sitting at 9-12 with a 0.5 game lead over the last place Rays. Because of Sunday's drubbing though, the Orioles' 118 runs allowed are good for 29th in the league, just one run better than the lowly Rockies.

Will things get better? Hopefully, but it's not clear if or when that'll happen. For one, the rotation is in shambles, with Grayson Rodriguez getting second opinions on a shoulder injury and Zach Eflin doesn't seem to have a timetable to return. Kyle Bradish won't be back until mid-season and coming off elbow surgery, is a major question mark. Even the depth pieces are cooked, with guys like Albert Suarez, Trevor Rogers, and Chayce McDermott all unavailable for the foreseeable future.

Brandon Young wasn't particularly impressive in his debut, Cody Poteet got throttled on Sunday and looked terrible, and the only other guy working his way into shape is veteran Kyle Gibson. Man, it's dark to think about the immediate future here without either some external help or a major turnaround from multiple Orioles' starting pitchers.

At the end of the day, Blewett probably wasn't a difference maker. The bullpen as a whole hasn't been a problem either. It's really just Perez who has been bad. But for a team trying to climb its way out of the gutter, every bit helps. The O's will have to hope that the group that's already here can turn things around, and quickly.